SB Nation User Blog: Anthony21

Getting Ahead of Ourselves

Anthony21 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:54:48 -0000

Getting Ahead of Ourselves

Judd Zulgad gives us a sneak peek at 2010 opponents...

Home: Dallas, Giants, Buffalo, Miami, Arizona.
Road: Philadelphia, Washington, New England, Jets, New Orleans.

Childress Ripped Offense at Halftime, Favre After the Game

Anthony21 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:23:07 -0000

There wasn't a heated discussion, Brad Childress? While Chilly denies that he got into a heated argument with Favre during the third quarter of Sunday's game, Sean Jensen reports that he wasn't pleased with Favre yapping to the media about the dispute. And so this happened after the media had left the locker room:

Interviews with six members of the organization revealed that Childress ripped his offense during halftime Sunday and that he privately unleashed an expletive-laden outburst toward Favre long after the game in the visitors' locker room.

By the way, that halftime rant didn't seem to be too effective:

Childress lashed out at his offense at halftime, after the unit had mustered just 66 net yards and struggled to run or pass the ball.

He cursed, and he called it "laughable" that they consider themselves a Super Bowl team.

One player described the tirade as "entertaining." Another likened it to a parent chastising a teenager.

And then the offense came out for the second half and stunk it up again. But as I alluded to after the game, something that's slipped through the cracks this week is the performance of the defense. Despite the problems between Childress and Favre, and despite the problems with Favre's protection (which ought to be the real story this week, in my opinion), Kevin Williams notes the sloppiness of the defensive effort this week:

We missed some tackles. I think we might have missed 15 tackles in the game.

I don't have the exact missed tackle count, but it captures the problem for this defense. In a game where the Vikings failed to compete, the issue with the defense was simply its inability to do fundamental things.

Childress: Talk of Benching Favre Was "Stream of Consciousness"

Anthony21 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:58:50 -0000

Brett Favre got his say, and now Brad Childress got his. According to a variety of Tweets from Zulgad, Jensen and Viking Update coming out of the Childress presser this afternoon, here's what we know: Childress wouldn't say that Brett Favre was "dissenting" when there was talk of benching him in the second half on Saturday, and instead described the sideline chatter as more "stream of consciousness" than anything. From Zulgad:

Childress also said his discussion with Favre about making a change was a "stream of consciousness" move on his part.

And Jensen:

Childress did not yank Favre. He said it was more "of a stream of consciousness," because Favre was getting his "rear end killed."

Jensen and others have noted reports that this was the third time Childress thought about benching Favre this season. Chilly wanted to take Favre out of games against the Lions and Packers, a revelation that definitely added fuel to this fire. Yep, as the top story on ESPN, this seemed on its way to becoming schism-gate all over again. Chilly obviously tried to settle things down in the presser, and we'll see if this story goes away.

I tend to believe this is being blown out of proportion, even if Chilly has apparently considered benching Favre before. The two big issues here are 1) How serious Childress was about replacing Favre in the third quarter of yesterday's game with the Vikings ahead, and 2) If it was because Favre was getting knocked around or if it was because Childress thought Tarvaris Jackson could provide a needed change of pace. Two interesting questions that welcome speculation, but ultimately, this is a chapter that needs to be put in the rear view mirror.

Update: Kevin Seifert, as usual, offers a solid take.

1. There have been occasions this season when Childress has considered pulling quarterback Brett Favre from a game for performance reasons.

2. Sunday night at Carolina was not one of those times.

3. Childress’ relationship with Favre is too close to "colleague" and too far from "coach-player."

That seems about right to me. I'm not convinced Chilly was serious about benching Favre on Sunday, so I just don't buy any talk of Favre dissenting from a decision by the coaching staff. It's also little surprise that Favre and Chilly seem more like colleagues than player and coach -- everyone knows that Brett is "his own man."

"Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it. No secret, I was getting hit a...

Anthony21 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:41:16 -0000

"Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it. No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, 'They're not moving the ball, they're not getting points.' Brad wanted to go in a different direction and I wanted to stay in the game.

Brett Favre, irked that Brad Childress wanted to pull him from yesterday's game.

Slipping and Sliding in December: Vikings Get Crushed in Carolina

Anthony21 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:19:21 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

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There's something about Sunday nights...

Once again, the Vikings laid an egg in primetime. I don't get it. The two worst games of the season for the Vikings have come on Sunday nights, and it's not even close. Two weeks ago in Arizona, the Vikings had a thoroughly disastrous game that involved an absolute thrashing by Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, a bumbling missed-tackle fest on defense, and a complete inability to utilize this team's many offensive weapons. This week, it was largely the same story -- but the caliber of the opponent was just much worse.

A single poor game in Arizona is unfortunate -- but it probably isn't worth getting too worried about. However, when the same issues emerge against a team not nearly as tough as Arizona, you have to start wondering.

The offensive line? It got shredded by Julius Peppers. Favre's performance? If it's any indication, Jim Kleinsasser was his leading receiver for quite a bit of the first half. Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and Percy Harvin once again pulled a vanishing act. Adrian Peterson? When he actually had the ball, which wasn't terribly often, there was no room to run. The defensive performance? It had a very tough time handling Matt Moore, a scrub who made high-percentage throws and was only sacked twice. The tackling was ugly, the pass rush belonged on the side of a milk carton, and it's no surprise that Carolina's offense controlled the time of possession battle. Jonathan Stewart slipped out of countless tackles, exposing just how tough the loss of E.J. Henderson is for the Vikings.

But look, despite my gripes about the defense, the offensive performance was horrendous. Absolutely horrendous. The #1 thing you can do to get beat by a mediocre team is allowing them to hang around early in the game. That's just what the Vikings did in this game. Check out their first four offensive drives of the game:

5 plays, 8 yards, 2:31 elapsed
3 plays, 0 yards, 2:23 elapsed
4 plays, 4 yards, 1:29 elapsed
3 plays, 8 yards, 1:53 elapsed

Embarrassing. Let me run some first half stats by you: 66 total yards, 1/5 on third downs, Matt Moore passes for double the yards that Favre did (98 yards to 48 yards), and Peterson is held to 3.1 yards per carry.

But wait, there's more. Things didn't get any better in the second half.

3 plays, 5 yards, 1:05 elapsed
4 plays, 23 yards, 1:28 elapsed
3 plays, 4 yards, 2:34 elapsed
3 plays, -3 yards, 0:57 elapsed
5 plays, 16 yards, 2:23 elapsed
4 plays, 15 yards, 1:10 elapsed

When you perform incompetently in the first half and come out and perform just as incompetently in the second half, you're an offense that stopped caring. You're an offense that faced adversity and flopped.

Some might call this a trap game, and some might say the Vikings got complacent after clinching an NFC North title earlier in the day. I'll call it something else: Getting crushed. Don't make excuses for this Vikings team, because they don't deserve it. I don't care that the field was in lousy condition, I don't care that the game was outdoors, and I don't care about what was happening around the division. The Vikings got killed out there.

What's most disappointing of all is that they seemed to be on the right track just one week ago. After having quite a few problems exposed by the Cardinals, the Vikings responded in a big way against Cincinnati. They were controlled by the Cardinals, and they responded by controlling the Bengals. Antoine Winfield was a nightmare for Carson Palmer, Adrian Peterson had a pair of touchdowns, and the victory was rarely in doubt. But the Vikings are now back to where they started from two weeks ago, coming off that devastating loss in Arizona.

Don't call it a fluke when it happens twice in three weeks. The Vikings are slipping at a time when they need to be building momentum, and suddenly, a first round bye is hardly a sure thing. But when you're a team that gets absolutely dominated against a team like the Panthers, it's hard to argue that anything is a sure thing.

SI's 2009 Draft Re-Do

Anthony21 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:58:05 -0000

SI's 2009 Draft Re-Do

Don Banks re-selects the 2009 NFL Draft and puts Percy Harvin and Phil Loadholt in the top 10 (#3 and #6, respectively).

Vikings Bounce Back Nicely, Cruise to Win Over Bengals

Anthony21 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:33:40 -0000

More photos » by Andy King - AP

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After last week's debacle, I wrote:

Plenty of problems were exposed tonight, and plenty of challenges have emerged -- now we get to see just how resilient this team is.

Answer: Pretty dang resilient.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Vikings jumped out to a two-score lead over the Bengals by halftime, extended that lead by a touchdown in the third quarter, and iced the game in the fourth quarter. Between missteps by a sloppy Bengals club, an impressive defensive effort headlined by the return of Antoine Winfield, a productive afternoon for Adrian Peterson, and a solid special teams performance, the Vikings looked darn good today.

And of all the factors that lifted the Vikings to a 20-point win over Cincinnati, the defense deserves a huge amount of the credit. One unforgettable scene from today's game: Antoine Winfield dropping what should have been an intercepted pass, and proceeding to do several push-ups between his drop and the next play. Good to have you back, Toine. The man's presence was felt in a big way, as Carson Palmer only managed 94 yards on 25 pass attempts. Chad Ochocinco got into the endzone in the second quarter to bring the Bengals within a field goal, but as far as offensive highlights go, there weren't many for Cincy beyond Ocho's 15-yard score.

Sure, Cedric Benson put up some impressive numbers -- 16 carries for 96 yards -- but nearly half of those yards came on a single carry, and for the most part, the rush defense was solid. All told, the Bengals could only manage 210 yards of total offense, while getting flagged 11 times for 85 yards. The Vikings made their share of unforced errors (nine penalties for 69 yards), but the Purple didn't make any mistakes that were too costly.

On the offensive side, Adrian Peterson rebounded nicely from a rough night in Arizona, finishing the game with a combined 137 yards through the air and on the ground. He also scored twice, including a dive into the endzone for a touchdown in the third quarter that would clinch the victory for the Vikings.

Brett Favre continued to struggle a bit, completing just over 50% of his passes while tossing a touchdown and an interception. The absence of Percy Harvin couldn't have helped matters for Brett, who never targeted his other favorite receivers -- Shank and Rice -- with any sort of consistency this afternoon (though it should be noted that one of Sid's four receptions was a nine-yard touchdown in the first quarter that lifted the Vikings to a 10-0 lead). It was a shame that Brett couldn't get into a rhythm for the second game in a row, but then again, that doesn't matter a whole lot when everything else is going right for the Vikings. And that was the case today.

Jasper Brinkley made three tackles today in relief of E.J. Henderson, but the real story was the emotional lift provided to this defense through the return of Antoine Winfield. After nine tackles and a few push-ups, Antoine had given everyone a reminder -- as if we needed it -- of just how valuable he is to this defense. You would have never guessed this guy had been sidelined for as long as he was, since he didn't miss a beat out there.

By the way, something that will probably go under the radar but deserves mention is the performance from the special teams. Aside from a penalty or two, it was near-perfect. Longwell went 3/3, Cincy averaged three yards per punt return and under 20 yards per kickoff return, and Kluwe was kicking the ball nicely out there. For a group that has sometimes struggled to rebound from a tough 2008 season, the special teams looked good today.

But Antoine Winfield and Adrian Peterson will headline this game, and rightfully so. Winfield was simply tremendous, and Peterson's pair of touchdowns helped him break a single-season team record for rushing touchdowns. This week was about rebounding from a setback, and both of those guys did just that.

Adam this Sunday when I score I'm taking that loud horn from the Viking mascot and using it<--is...

Anthony21 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:06:03 -0000

Adam this Sunday when I score I'm taking that loud horn from the Viking mascot and using it<--is that a fine to?

Hot off the press from Ochocinco. Took him this long to start yapping?

An Ugly Night for Vikings in Arizona

Anthony21 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:39:04 -0000

More photos » by Ross Franklin - AP

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If the Vikings were going to have a game that needs to be forgotten immediately, I'm glad it came now rather than later. Because this was an ugly, tough-to-watch, all-around terrible game.

After jumping out to a 7-0 lead, the Vikings shut down for the night. Arizona completely took control. The problems were numerous, the gaffes were many, and the game was easily the ugliest of the year for the Vikes.

Take the ingredients of a Vikings win: Get an efficient game out of Favre, get a variety of receivers involved, feed the playmakers, get a productive performance from Adrian Peterson, pressure the opposing quarterback, and make good tackles. None of that happened today. That's the recipe for an embarrassing loss.

Actually, embarrassing puts it too mildly. Favre threw a pair of interceptions -- which, this season, is completely out-of-character for him. A few additional passes probably should have been intercepted. Adrian Peterson was flummoxed by a Cardinals defense that took advantage of a battered Vikings offensive line. Sidney Rice -- Favre's most reliable target this season -- was hardly seen. It seemed like he might have been left behind at the airport. And Shiancoe too, who was also completely absent from the passing attack. Ignoring those two guys is how you lose football games. The Vikings' inability to utilize these weapons was, to put it kindly, confusing.

So with nothing going well on the offensive end -- outside of the opening drive -- the defense was going to have to dominate this one for the Vikings to have any chance. But in a variety of ways, this defense wilted. Kurt Warner barely felt a rush, Anquan Boldin caught a pair of touchdowns before the Vikings even knew what hit them, and incompetent tackling resulted in too many big-gainers for the Cardinals offense. Speaking of guys who could have been left behind at the airport, where was Jared Allen? The Cards did a tremendous job on him.

Things get worse. E.J. Henderson's done for the year. Don't need to wait for the injury report to figure that out. An absolutely devastating and gruesome leg injury in the fourth quarter, after the result of the game was no longer in doubt. What a shame. Doesn't take a doctor to tell you that he has a long road back to the football field. At this point, we just need to hope that he'll be able to return next season at full strength, with his full ability intact. The injury he suffered could, at the very worst, be a career-threatening one. We'll keep you posted.

After taking a 7-0 lead, the Cardinals outscored the Vikings by a 27-10 margin. On top of all the problems I've mentioned, Arizona controlled the field position battle. Hard to cut into a lead when you're deep in your own territory. Hard to cut into a lead when your third down efficiency is horrendous and Favre is getting battered.

Adjustments need to be made. The tackling desperately needs to improve in the weeks ahead, and Antoine Winfield's sure tacking was desperately missed. Warner had all day to throw the ball -- the defensive line wasn't applying anything even resembling a rush on him. The Vikings will once again find themselves without E.J. Henderson, putting pressure on Chad Greenway and Ben Leber to step up. The lack of production from Adrian is frightening. The lack of throws to the best targets in the receiving corps is concerning.

The Vikings leave Arizona as a battered team that will be missing its best linebacker for quite some time. They come home with a lot of changes that need to be made for them to be a competitive team next Sunday -- some related to player execution, others related to game planning. But amidst the endless list of problems from tonight, there's a chance for redemption in front of a friendly crowd next week. Plenty of problems were exposed tonight, and plenty of challenges have emerged -- now we get to see just how resilient this team is.

Not Bad For a 40-Year-Old

Anthony21 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:49:22 -0000

Not Bad For a 40-Year-Old

Brett Favre is your NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. The numbers are eye-popping: Four wins, a completion percentage of 70%, 1,193 passing yards, 12 touchdowns. And stunningly, no interceptions.